New ‘NYPD’ Premiere Date Chases Bochco’s Blues Away

After floating the idea of moving “NYPD Blue” to a new night--and angering its producer in the process--ABC has opted merely to delay the detective series until January, keeping the critically acclaimed drama on the Tuesday beat it has patrolled for six seasons.

The maneuver will allow ABC to continue airing “Once and Again,” a drama starring Sela Ward and Billy Campbell, in “NYPD Blue’s” time period through December. At that point the new program will go off until Jan. 24, coming back at 10 p.m. Mondays once “Monday Night Football” has concluded its season.

Previously earmarked to begin its seventh season in early November, “NYPD Blue” will now return Jan. 11. ABC points out this season’s 22 new episodes will thus be able to air straight through the May sweeps, without any of the reruns that would otherwise air in March and April.

ABC’s decision represents an effort to make the best of an awkward situation--one that prompted “NYPD Blue” co-creator Steven Bochco to criticize the network and ardent fans to flood ABC’s Web site to lobby against the switch.

Informed two weeks ago that ABC was considering leaving “Once and Again” on Tuesdays and shipping his show off to another night, Bochco immediately went public with accusations the network was favoring the new show because it’s produced in conjunction with ABC’s parent company, Disney. Dennis Franz, a four-time Emmy winner for the role of Det. Andy Sipowicz, vented his frustration as well.

Bochco said Friday he’s satisfied with ABC’s ultimate verdict and welcomes the chance to avoid the in-season repeats necessary in the past. “For shows that have a loyal following, that have any kind of continuity of storytelling, that’s not a bad way to go,” he noted.

Said ABC Entertainment Television Group Co-Chairman Stu Bloomberg, “I wanted to do what was right for both of these series . . . and I think we’ve found the best solution.”

Bloomberg suggested “Once and Again” may pick up some of the audience that watches Fox’s “Ally McBeal” in the preceding hour Mondays, as “The Practice” did while airing that night. As for what happens if the show succeeds when football comes back next fall, he said, “It’s a great problem to have.”

Despite having opened in promising fashion, ratings for “Once and Again” have gradually diminished with each telecast--off nearly 40% from its premiere, which drew 16.8 million viewers, to 10.3 million last Tuesday. At the same time, CBS’ competing drama “Judging Amy” has seen its ratings grow, attracting 15.6 million viewers last week.

ABC has stressed that its series continues to top “Judging Amy”--which stars onetime “NYPD Blue” regular Amy Brenneman--among adults 18 to 49, the main demographic sought by advertisers, but even that gap has narrowed.

As for “NYPD Blue,” Bochco--who argued earlier that the proposed shift would be ABC’s way of “kissing the show off”--maintains the series still has plenty of life left and can run for years, citing the current popularity of NBC’s “Law & Order,” in its 10th season. ABC’s existing contract includes an option that extends through the 2000-01 season.

“We have an opportunity, if we’re handled well, to be a real staple of their schedule for a long, long time to come,” the producer said.

ABC has other scheduling moves to consider--among them what to do Thursdays, where its new drama “Wasteland” finished a dismal fifth last week at 9 p.m., behind both UPN’s “WWF Smackdown!” and “Charmed” on the WB.